"Wall Street"
I am under the impression that if you are in IBD, S&T, etc. in a city like Chicago or Charlotte, you still "work on Wall Street" even though you don't work in NYC. Someone tried to tell me otherwise the other day. Who is correct?
Trending Content
| +84 | Zoomers are doing life wrong | 27 | 12m | |
| +52 | How to get rid of prestige obsession | 24 | 1d | |
| +44 | How to develop a thick skin? | 22 | 3d | |
| +36 | Analysts & Crying | 13 | 2d | |
| +34 | Insurance as High Finance? | 10 | 10h | |
| +29 | Would you rather live alone in an outer borough or with roommates in Manhattan? | 22 | 3s | |
| +29 | Framed Photo of CEO on desk. | 15 | 1m | |
| +24 | GF doesn’t care about her looks | 21 | 9h | |
| +23 | BO -> ??? | 14 | 3d | |
| +19 | My bank paid out bonuses in Shark Cards. Is this normal? | 9 | 3d |
Career Resources
I vote no. If you do not work in Manhattan, to me, you don't work on Wall Street. Now that most of the big banks have left the FiDi though it's a strangely defined term.
If you don't work on Wall Street itself, no way can you say you work on Wall Street. Goldman guys always say "I work on West Street" and MS guys say they work on Broadway...
But really, does it matter? I just say I work in finance or private equity.
Saying "I work on Wall St" is cheesy, even if you do, in fact, work on Wall St.
Who cares about the "Wall Street" moniker anyways?
Wall Street = NYC imo
"Occupy 47th Street" just doesn't have the same ring to it.
lol That's great.
I met a cheese ball at a bachelor party last year, the guy was trying to act like a BSD the whole time, very over the top telling people he works on Wall Street etc. I found out he's a financial advisor in bumblefuck Maryland for like Citi or BAML. Prob makes $200K and is the king of his tiny pond. Those type "Wall Streeters" are the absolute worst.
To show how much of a tool he was, he has a tattoo of the Wall Street, street sign on his arm, lol.
I should get a ops tattoo that say "Backofficeland". I agree full-heartedly with you opinion on those "Wallstreeters''. I know someone who works at Ayco (owned by GS) and he joined a bunch of goldman groups on social media lol. Also know SVPs of retail banking who act like they are Icahn.
Hah, I love it! I once ran into a drunken asshat who asked me what firm I worked for. I was having a nice quiet conversation with a friend at a bar and he just throws himself into our conversation. He of course had not heard of it because he is probably some shitty personal financial advisor somewhere. He then proceeds to drunkenly stammer "I work for JP Morgan Goldman!". Annoying yes, but my friend and I had a good laugh about it.
Didn't think a PWM guy could be that dumb. That sounds more like a pump and dump stockbroker from Long Island type of thing.
this is a good idea for the next poll question
my vote would be, if you work in Manhattan, you "work on Wall Street"
outside Manhattan, no
disclaimer - i'm long tsla, and i never worked on wall street
i work for god
Depends on the context. When people ask, "How do I break into a Wall Street job?" they are asking how they can break into high finance. "Wall Street jobs" would be used generically to refer to jobs in high finance. Wall Street Oasis is not a website solely about the industry in Manhattan--it's about jobs that are often associated with "Wall Street", the industry of high finance.
Now, if someone says, "I work on Wall Street" then they SHOULD be saying that they physically work in high finance in Manhattan. But there is kind of a double meaning here--although technically accurate, you wouldn't say, "I work on Wall Street" if you work in a coffee shop located on Wall Street. As you can see, "Wall Street" is colloquially used as a reference to the industry of high finance and as a physical place where people work who work in the industry.
As a method of comparison, when one derisively refers to "those K Street lobbyists" they aren't literally referring only to lobbyists that set up shop on K Street. It is a colloquialism. To that point, I might refer to a successful financier who lives and works in Los Angeles as a "Wall Street warrior".
Depends how it's used. You can't say "I work on Wall Street" when you're bragging to your buddy at a local bar in Akron.
But I've been called a "Wall Street guy" even though I'm nowhere near NY. It's also used as a figurative term. I'm sure Bernie Sanders doesn't hate Wall Street because he finds it too crowded or doesn't like the area.
Wall Street guy. Wall Street-ER. I'd say are 'okay' if you work for a major bank, just because when you think GS you think Wall Street work.
But if you say "I work on Wall Street" and really don't then you're an overcompensating loser. Unless you're out in Belize trying to pick up some hotties. Which then, say you're a Senator or billionaire's son, it'll work even better. Trust me. ;)
I consider "working on Wall Street" high finance in Manhattan, FO positions. For example, if you're an IT analyst at GS I don't think you can say you work on Wall Street.
Inevitably when you say anything market related people want to talk about the markets. I've started to make up a profession each time I'm introduced to a new couple. Yogi, director at a non-profit for rescue dogs, just depends.
Lol. I've often done this. I don't live in the NYC area so when I say finance and if (most likely when) they ask I say PE (and they have no idea what that is) they then keep asking until it comes down to "I do Wall Street type of stuff." Then they ask for investment advice: have a good stock? What should I do with my 401(k)?
It's easier to say pet dander inspector or Sepultura lighting director.
CFO of Hustler
What exactly is "Working on Wall Street" (Originally Posted: 05/17/2012)
I see this term thrown around a lot.
Is it working at a BB?
Is it doing IB or S&T or other FO work...anywhere?
Stock broker?
Working in the actual Wall Street area?
Working in the financial services industry?
I should start a business capturing those cheese balls, making t-shirts with graphics based off of wall Street.
Haha, I love that idea. lLet me know if you go through with it.
Honestly I don't really hear the Wall Street metanym among people in the industry anymore. It's kind of relegated to journalism (and usually bad journalism at that). If I meet someone and they say they "work on wall street" I would think they were being either purposefully vague or really douchy.
It's what the protesters tell girls when they're hanging out in hipster bars.
{Andrew Dice Clay voice} OHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Well, it's an antiquated term going back to when every major firm was located in the Financial District either or or just off of Wall Street. So when you said you worked on Wall Street, you were indicating that you worked for one of the various banks, brokerage houses, wire houses, market makers or the exchange itself. Now it is just synonymous with working in finance in New York City.
Finance in NYC
Yeah always wondered about that.These days working on WS has more negative connotations after all the -ve publicity post the financial crisis & OWS etc.
I too haven't seen it being mentioned by core Finance professionals, its more a thing with the SAs and interns who're still too new to the industry and wanna show off.
SB for that video, hilarious.
Well, don't you want to know what I do? I work on Wall Street - Pierce & Pierce. Have you heard of it?
fuck you
Really? An American Psycho reference? How Cliche...
who is andrew dice clay?
I hear a few people say this phrase, and usually it is those that have an arrogant personality that screams "I work at an investment bank, I'm the king of the world". I don't think its finance in NYC. Buy side is finance in NYC as well, but I don't consider that "Wall Street". I think front office, sell side in NYC is more aligned with "I work on Wall Street".
I tend to hear this more from finance guys outside of NYC actually. I still think it sounds douchey
Sounds docuhey because they shouldn't be saying that
Don't listen to these idiots. It's actually quite literal. For instance, I work on Wall Street.
Corner of Broadway & Wall Street to be precise. TD Bank's Top Rated Teller for 3 straight months!
Wall Street = Front Office role related to dealing with/selling Financial Services (products, businesses, advice). Front Office = Revenue Generating role. Revenue Generating = Dealing with Clients (whoever pays you) Directly.
Example: IBD analysts and ER associates do not generate revenue, but they are still front office.
If anyone tells you they work on "Wall St" they're a try-hard. The moniker is extinct - no one actually works on Wall Street and no one with a bit of humility would ever want to brag about being a "Wall St Guy".
Working in high finance doesn't make you special or a big deal at all
Saying you work on Wall Street? (Originally Posted: 02/27/2010)
Weird question I know, but do those who don't work in NYC still say they work on Wall Street? i.e do Chicago bankers say they work on wall street? Wall street in my mind just represents the investment banking industry more than it does a location.
Don't you want to know what I do? Well, I work on Wall Street... for Pierce & Pierce. Have you heard of it?
I work for Duke & Duke. You can call me Billy Ray Valentine.
"high finance"
I think Wall Street implies at least being in New York City and working in the finance industry. I don't really see why it matters though. Why wouldn't you just say you work for an investment bank in Chicago?
I always think it's humorous when someone says they work on wall street and they don't even work in NYC.
Another funny thing to consider is that many people in this country do not even know Wall St. is an actual street in new york city. Many just think it's an expression for working in finance. You may not believe this because it sounds ridiculous but it's unfortunately true.
Working in NYC=Wall Street (Not necessarily downtown or physically on wall street) Working in Chicago, SF, LA, Etc.=Finance
I definitely think NYC office is required.
For more information on firms out there, please visit the LA Blog. There are over 1,100 private equity firms, 200 investment banks, and 200 prop trading firms listed. All the prop trading firms have links.
http://leverageacademy.com/blog
Also, to read a Senator's recent letter to Goldman Sachs for milking the Build America Bond program, please click this link:
http://leverageacademy.com/blog/2010/02/28/senator-grassleys-letter-to-…
For Berkshire Hathaway's 2009 letter to shareholders, please click this link:
http://leverageacademy.com/blog/2010/02/27/berkshire-hathaway-2009-lett…
Follow us on Facebook & Twitter! Just search for "Leverage Academy"
My definitions. Wall Street: people (corporations are people too) who know how to follow the money. Main Street: people who chase the people who follow the money. Who do you want to be?
Speaking for myself, I have never said "I work on wall street". Makes you sound like a tool.
Real bankers never say this to anyone, especially ppl already working in finance.
I associate "Wall Street" exclusively with sell-side finance in NYC. I once met a secretary at a Long Island-based three-person accounting firm who said he worked on Wall Street, and as you can imagine, I tried so hard to stifle my laughter.
Working on Wall Street (Originally Posted: 08/04/2010)
Can I tell bitchez that I work on Wall Street if the address of my investment bank is actually on wall street but I work in the back office of said firm?
are any banks even on wall street anymore? obviously the exchange is there, but in my trips to NY I seem to remember most firms are on park or broadway, but I could be wrong, I live in bumblefuck mason dixon hickville, USA.
also, if you ever say "I work on wall street" when someone asks "what do you do?" you're a douche.
finally, if you say "I work on wall street" and you're not in manhattan, you are the worst thing to happen to America since the NFL took away touchdown dances.
sure, guys lie to girls all the time haha
Only if the "girls" are transvestites. That way the cheating cancels out.
ROFL
Dude i've been telling girls i work on wall street (HFs, PE...whatever I feel like) since HIGH SCHOOL. tell them whatever you want
Haha what a tool
QwertyMan never left high school... I mean he never left his HF/PE job.
I wouldn't say wall st, but if we work at an investment bank, asset management firm, high finance etc, I think it's definitely okay to say we work on the street. Right? Although I never go around telling people I work on the street, usually just say finance, but I think we can get away with saying we work on the street in any FO roll in high finance.
Can you say you work on Wall Street if you're not in NYC? (Originally Posted: 10/21/2010)
I have a few friends in non-NYC offices like LA, Chicago, Boston, SF, Houston, Charlotte, etc. at multiple banks from BB to MM and all of them consider themselves to be working on "wall street".
I thought ur only wall street if you work in nyc at a BB or elite boutique.
what are your thoughts?
I would say no, if you tell someone you work on Wall Street they assume you work in NYC at a major bank.
If you tell them you work on Wall Street, and then have to explain how you actually work in LA but can technically say you work on WS it would just seem stupid.
What if you work in NY, but not on actual Wall Street? Same concept?
Just say "I work for a wall street firm" Done
aero: most of the banks are in midtown like park avenue and even the best, goldman, is on 200 west so technically not wall street. i think being in manhattan is enough.
eyelikecheese: thanks, that sounds like a good solution
Wall Street is a generic, catch-all term. None of the firms are actually on "Wall Street" anymore anyway. Especially if you're speaking to someone from outside finance, saying you work on Wall Street is easy shorthand for describing what you do.
Only an industry tool takes it literally.
Yes, it's perfectly acceptable to say you work on Wall Street even if you're in Houston or San Fran.
Agreed. I work on the Street and I live in the Dirty Dirty Sou'f.
Regards
Wall Street is an extremely vague term my man. If you're working a front office role for an IB (BB/MM/Boutique) or at some buyside firm (HF/AM, PE, VC, etc.) as an investment professional, then you're considered to be working on the Street. Location really doesn't matter. If you're a banker or research analyst specializing in tech firms, don't you think it'd be an advantage to work in SF than NYC? Same goes with PE/VC firms - it makes more sense to be in place like SF or Boston where the majority of the investment opportunities are. People may have different views but I think the term is extremely broad. Now if you're working for GS in operations or some other BO role, then clearly you're excluded from working on "Wall Street."
agree w edmundo
Who cares? If you want to get picky, wall street is specifically referencing those working in high finance in NY. But like Edmundo said, 'wall street' is a catch-all term, and also mainstreeters use it as a description for bankers, hedge funders, PE guys in general.
Unless you're working at Edward Jones or back office and you say you work in 'wall street', I think people nitpicking on such titles for people describing themselves (when they are in high finance) are being douchey.
I personally don't even like the whole 'I work in wall street' thrown around in general. Just say 'I'm in banking/finance/PE/etc.'
Edmundo takes the cake.
I would say that working on "Wall Street" means that you are anywhere in Manhattan. If you are in another state, it will false, and you are trying too hard to sound prestigious.
Like stated before, say you work for a Wall Street firm, but you do not work on "Wall Street."
LMAO.
Says the "prospective" monkey. Let us know when you get a job on any street, junior.
Personally I'd feel a little douchey telling people I work on Wall St. since I live in New Orleans. That just screams pretentious. Whats wrong with just saying you're in finance?
the offices that are actually ON wall street are BO gigs..
so yes you could say that you work on wall street, but you'd also be saying you work in operations and went to state school
DB has trading floors on wall street
+1 to Eddie
Plus, assuming that one takes this even somewhat literally, are you really going to say that someone who works at a hedge fund in Greenwich, which is obviously in another state, does not work on Wall Street?
greenwich is in manhattan. like the village or the street.
The Greenwich he is referring to in Connecticut, a major hedge fund presence.
Only a douche these days would say they work on "Wall Street" whether you worked on the fucking street or not. This is a general term to be used by others, including our mom's who have no idea what we do, to describe the general broad categorization of professional banking, trading, Asset Management and the like. The fact that a movie was names Wall Street shows that it is really a generalized term. Gordon Gekko's office was not on "Wall St." and no one cares where it was, for that matter.
you gotta be at a BB nyc to say you work on wall street IMO
i agree because itd be weird if u worked in Toronto canada to say u work on Wall Street.
Also it'd be weird if u worked at or grief & co. or Jefferies or Piper Jaffray or gridley and to say you work on wall street even if u are in nyc.
You have to be at a BB in NYC to say you work on Wall Street?
How many banks have their IBD division on Wall Street? Working in a front office finance position is working on 'the Street' whether you are on Park Avenue or in San Francisco.
I feel like Wall Street is used to describe institutional/corporate finance. You have community banks and community banking jobs. And then you have Wall Street. Specific events, such as fin reg., impact everyone on the street in a different way than it impacts people in community banks. 'Wall Street' could include everyone from the back office guy actually on Wall Street to an M&A guy at a MM in Houston.
So I would say, yes, your non-nyc do work on Wall Street. However I would advise them not to that to tell people outside of finance. Explaining what you do to people not in finance is a whole different topic.....
No, the only people who can say they work on Wall Street are guys at DB because their tower is on Wall Street.
I know a guy who lives on Wall Street (apartment) and walks across the street to go to work at DB. He can say I live and work on Wall Street. Commute time from door to door is around 15-30 seconds.
If you work in Midtown, just say you work in banking.
Whether or not it's in good taste to say you work on Wall Street isn't really the issue here.
For anyone not at the NYSE or Deutsche Bank NYC or one of the coffee shops along the road, "working on Wall Street" is an example of metonymy; when you refer to a part of a whole to represent the whole. Wall Street is the part; high finance is the whole.
Tracing the original 'part' and its path towards the whole: the world's leading stock exchange is on Wall Street, the stock market itself being a part of high finance (incidentally, the only part of high finance that the retail community sort of understands and has access to).
Whether NYC/Manhattan-only constitutes Wall Street is simply asking the wrong question. The question is whether one works in high finance. As others have quickly said, most high finance firms are no longer on Wall Street (just DB, which again incidentally, seems to be retreating).
The next question is whether working at a bulge bracket, elite boutique, buyside fund, etc etc constitutes working on Wall Street. This one is a little more subtle, since the answer is mostly yes, but not quite, as one poster said (re: investment advisers at a BB in Maryland). This would suggest that not only do you have to work at a firm that's active in high finance, but your function has got to be high finance. Consider the example of a TMT I-banker or a PIMCO PM on the West Coast, vs someone who clears Ops or does Credit Risk at a BB in NY. Who's more 'high finance'?
So, while you are closer than anyone else to the epicenter of the high finance (and therefore, Wall Street) ecosystem if you are in Manhattan, the question is really whether you are a part of the high finance ecosystem. And it's as simple as this: you don't leave Wall Street because you've transferred your IBD or S&T job from New York to London/SF/Houston etc - you leave Wall Street when you leave high finance.
The only time someone would ever correct you would have to be if your in NYC..... I can't see any other city being as douche-filled to seriously argue whether or not being in manhattan is the only way to qualify to say Wall Street.
Do you say you work in fi-nance or fy-nance?
fin-ants
serious question: does ANYONE actually say "I work in high finance" when someone asks you what you do?
I could imagine someone getting kicked in the mouth for saying that.
Eum suscipit qui laboriosam nemo dolore fuga. Ut sed sit officia dolorum. Consequatur quasi et et qui cupiditate enim. Et reiciendis tempora cum perferendis officia. Numquam alias inventore tempora error placeat id.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Sit asperiores iusto tenetur consectetur sint excepturi neque error. Cumque a voluptatum sapiente. Sint in necessitatibus minima dolores eveniet. Enim et aut tenetur consequatur necessitatibus occaecati. Nisi dolore reprehenderit iste nesciunt. Laudantium qui eaque quidem est eligendi et.
Voluptates veritatis nulla ea dolore. Veritatis placeat eligendi corrupti omnis iure. Sunt corporis impedit fugiat modi voluptate. A et nemo autem iste est. Aliquid et temporibus ut nobis laboriosam libero qui.
Minima aliquam blanditiis est atque et. Alias velit voluptatem aut beatae magni. Ex animi velit autem sit ullam reiciendis assumenda ratione.
Ut pariatur tenetur asperiores sapiente iste. Consequuntur sint officia perferendis quos reprehenderit. Non et consequuntur saepe quo.
Assumenda sed corrupti nesciunt aut pariatur quia. Nam magnam qui consequatur quis distinctio quod. Ipsam nesciunt tempore sit dolorum corporis. Molestias officiis qui id.
Nihil ducimus quia animi dolores nemo autem. Voluptas cumque quae possimus. Consequatur illum velit repellendus commodi omnis. Non debitis corrupti veritatis at. Facilis omnis qui dolores magni.
Voluptatem repellendus praesentium officiis consequatur eum quam at ut. Sunt et enim laudantium soluta alias. Illum rerum tempore dolorum.
Totam velit quas dolorem et eaque. Nisi aperiam animi odio voluptates aliquam a. Ad est consequuntur est. Fugit architecto ipsum harum. Voluptate provident odit sequi dolorum nulla necessitatibus tempora.
Omnis fugit aut eius possimus recusandae. Id consequatur fugit similique itaque minus. Facilis doloremque commodi earum enim facere magnam.
Tempore adipisci ad debitis. Laudantium reiciendis unde architecto enim.
Eos temporibus quia provident sunt dicta qui. Porro nihil eaque et ut ducimus est.
Fugiat numquam est id voluptatem sunt accusantium dolorum. Ab aut assumenda veritatis et repellendus aperiam. Voluptas odio assumenda sit autem sit blanditiis.
Quis fugiat nulla eos et dicta delectus. Quisquam eius a enim quasi numquam sed aut repudiandae. In et quia velit voluptatem. In quisquam neque minima necessitatibus nulla libero omnis.